Tourist licences in Valencia and Alicante, explained.
Everything a non resident owner needs to know to rent legally to holidaymakers in the Valencia region: the licence (your VT number), the town hall gateway, which towns are open right now, the real costs, and the five year renewal. Written and kept up to date by a real Costa Blanca law firm, with sources and dates.
Reviewed 7 July 2026. Also answers the American spelling, tourist license Spain.
The 30 second version
- 1. Your licence is REGIONAL: the VT number from the Generalitat Valenciana. The national registry was annulled by the Supreme Court in May 2026.
- 2. The gateway is your TOWN HALL: the urban compatibility report (ICU). It is the bottleneck, one to three months.
- 3. Your town decides: some are open, some are suspended, some cap by zone. The live table below shows the verified status.
- 4. Flats need the community of owners approval, a three fifths majority, since April 2025.
- 5. The licence lasts five years and renews within the month before it expires.
- 6. With us it is 150 euros for the document review, deducted in full, then 599 euros in total for a villa and 699 euros for an apartment, VAT included. Official fees separate and at cost. The zone check is free.
Watch: short term rentals in Valencia and Alicante
Daniel walks through the whole system in plain English: what counts as tourist use, who decides, and where owners get caught out.
The five steps, in order
1. Check your zone (free)
Whether a new licence is possible depends on your exact municipality, and increasingly on your exact street and property type. Our free checker answers this first, so you never spend money on a dead end.
2. The town hall compatibility report (ICU)
The urban compatibility certificate from your town hall is the gateway document and the bottleneck, typically one to three months. We request it on day one and track it to issue. In towns with an active suspension, the regional registry only accepts a certificate issued within the last 6 months, so timing matters.
3. The property paperwork
Occupancy licence (second occupation where it applies), energy certificate, civil liability insurance, and, for a flat in a building, the community of owners approval by a three fifths majority under Ley Organica 1/2025. You upload what you have; we tell you what is missing.
4. The regional registration (your VT number)
With a favourable ICU in hand, we file the responsible declaration with the Generalitat Valenciana. The VT number is issued automatically on filing, and the activity can start, with checks afterwards. The licence is valid for five years.
5. Renting compliantly
Guest registration with SES.Hospedajes within 24 hours of check-in, records kept for three years, the annual Modelo 210 tax return on your rental income, and the renewal within the month before your five year mark. We handle each of those steps as its own service, and the tax return is priced separately at the ordinary price.
Which towns are open right now
This table is read live from our verified municipal database, the same engine behind the free checker. Each row shows when the firm last verified that town against primary sources. Most guides online are snapshots that quietly go stale; this one is maintained.
| Municipality | Status | Detail | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alacant / Alicante | Restricted | Full moratorium until January 2027 | 2026-07-07 |
| Calp / Calpe | Open | Open for VUT; only commercial-to-housing change suspended | 2026-07-24 |
| Canet d'en Berenguer | Restricted | Suspended across the whole town | 2026-07-08 |
| Dénia | Restricted | Suspended in the old town; open in Les Marines, Les Rotes and Montgo | 2026-07-07 |
| El Campello | Open | Open. The suspension was formally lifted in February 2026 | 2026-08-27 |
| El Verger | Restricted | Compatibility reports suspended | 2026-02-01 |
| Gandia | Open | Open; no VUT-specific measure (only small area-specific planning suspensions) | 2026-07-24 |
| l'Alfas del Pi | Restricted | Suspended at least 2 years | 2026-07-07 |
| Orpesa/Oropesa del Mar | Open | Open; live tourist-housing compatibility procedure, stock still growing | 2026-07-24 |
| Sagunt/Sagunto | Capped | Restricted: VUT banned on ground floors of category-2 residential blocks (except zone Z.9); tertiary only as whole single-operator blocks | 2026-07-24 |
| Teulada | Open | Open, no moratorium | 2026-07-07 |
| Torrevieja | Open | Open; dedicated tourist-housing procedure published by the town hall | 2026-07-24 |
| Valencia | Capped | Permanent 2% cap per neighbourhood (auto-close when full) | 2026-07-08 |
| Xabia / Javea | Restricted | Apartments/plurifamiliar suspended; detached villas (unifamiliar) open | 2026-07-07 |
Towns not listed have not been verified by the firm yet; the checker still answers for them with a cautious result and a free human review. Your exact street and property type can change the answer, which is what the checker resolves.
Check your exact property, freeWhat changed in 2024 to 2026
Four changes reshaped the rules. If the guide you are reading does not mention the last one, it is out of date.
8 August 2024
Decreto-ley 9/2024 (Valencia region)
Stays of 10 days or less to the same guest are tourist use; whole dwelling only, renting rooms is banned; new registrations valid 5 years with renewal; individual cadastral reference mandatory; key boxes in the street banned; and town halls expressly empowered to suspend or zone new licences, which is why the town by town map below matters.
2 December 2024
SES.Hospedajes becomes mandatory
Every tourist rental must register guests with the Interior Ministry platform within 24 hours (RD 933/2021), keeping records for three years. Fines for breaches run from 601 to 30,000 euros under the citizen security law.
3 April 2025
Ley Organica 1/2025: the community vote
A new tourist licence in an apartment building now needs the PRIOR express approval of the community of owners by a three fifths majority. Licences already operating before this date keep working under the sector rules they registered with.
19 May 2026
STS 620/2026: the national registry annulled
The Supreme Court annulled the single national rental registry (NRA) created by RD 1312/2024, for lack of state competence; the ruling was published in the BOE on 8 June 2026. What this means in practice: the REGIONAL registration remains the operative door, and in the Valencia region your valid number is the VT number. Much online guidance still cites the national registry as if it were current; it is not.
Deep dives
Legal update
The national registry, annulled: what stands
For flat owners
The community 3/5 vote, explained
Keep your licence
The 5-year renewal and its one month window
Once you rent
SES.Hospedajes: every guest, reported in 24h
For buyers
Buying WITH a licence: the asset and the traps
All guides
Browse every guide, dated and sourced
Questions owners actually ask
What exactly is a tourist licence in the Valencia region?
It is the regional registration that lets you legally rent your property to holidaymakers for stays of 10 days or less. Once registered you receive a VT number (VT followed by six digits and a province letter) which must appear in all your advertising. It is valid for five years and then renews.
Do I need the national registry number (NRA) as well?
No. The Supreme Court annulled the single national registry on 19 May 2026 (STS 620/2026, published in the BOE on 8 June 2026). The regional VT registration is the operative requirement in the Valencia region. Be careful with older guides that still describe the national number as mandatory.
Which towns are restricted right now?
It changes, which is why we keep a live table on this page fed by our verified municipal database. As of July 2026: Alicante city is suspended until January 2027; Denia's old town is suspended while Les Marines, Les Rotes and Montgo stay open; Javea has suspended apartments while detached villas can apply; Moraira and Calpe are open; Valencia city runs a per-neighbourhood cap.
How long does the whole process take?
The town hall compatibility report is the bottleneck at one to three months depending on the municipality; Alicante publishes 15 working days for certificates and Denia publishes 3 months. The regional registration itself is immediate once the paperwork is complete. We start the slowest piece on day one.
What does it cost?
You start with a 150 euros document review that gives you a firm written answer on whether your property qualifies, and it comes off your price in full. The Complete service is then 599 euros in total for a villa or house on its own plot, and 699 euros for an apartment or any property inside a community of owners, where we also handle the three fifths community agreement. Both include VAT: you upload your documents, we handle the whole licence, reviewed by the lawyer and the tax advisor, and you only sign. Complex cases are quoted individually in your written answer. Official fees are always separate and passed through at cost: for example the compatibility certificate is 60 euros in Denia, 111.39 euros in Alicante and 54.10 euros in Torrevieja.
My property is a flat. Does the community have to approve?
Yes. Since 3 April 2025 a new tourist licence in an apartment building needs the prior express approval of the community of owners by a three fifths majority. We review the community statutes and minutes as part of the pre-check, and we handle the whole community process for you. That is why an apartment is 699 euros in total instead of the 599 euros of a villa.
What happens after five years?
The registration expires unless you renew, and the renewal must be filed within the month before the end of the period, with an updated compatibility report. Miss it and the property is removed from the registry. Preparing that renewal is work we do for you when the time comes.
Start with the free check on your zone
Before you pay anything, we tell you whether your property can get a licence. If it can,the whole thing is 599 euros in total for a villa and 699 euros for an apartment, VAT included, official fees separate, reviewed by a real lawyer.